Video Game Archaeology as Hauntological Practice: A Collaborative Autoethnography in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

Paper Title

Video Game Archaeology as Hauntological Practice: A Collaborative Autoethnography in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

Publication Info

• Topic area: Video game archaeology and human-computer interaction (HCI) methodologies.
• Keywords: Video game archaeology, hauntology, collaborative autoethnography, Elden Ring, asynchronous multiplayer, play preservation, diffractive analysis, HCI, environmental storytelling, eudaimonia.

Background and Problem

• Problem / challenge: The ephemeral nature of digital play experiences and asynchronous multiplayer artefacts in video games makes them difficult to preserve. Existing methodologies for recording such experiences are limited, and collaborative autoethnography has not been widely applied to video game research.
• Significance: Preserving traces of player activity and the research process is crucial for understanding digital communities, advancing interdisciplinary methodologies, and contributing to the study of eudaimonic experiences in games.
• Motivation and related work: Previous studies have explored practical archaeogaming, asynchronous multiplayer features, and video game preservation through videography. However, these approaches often lack a focus on dynamic player activity and self-reflective methodologies. This paper builds on prior work by combining archaeological recording techniques with collaborative autoethnography.

Solution

• Proposed approach: A combined archaeological survey and retrospective collaborative autoethnography of Elden Ring during the release of its DLC Shadow of the Erdtree. The study records asynchronous multiplayer artefacts (messages, bloodstains, gestures) and reflects on the research process using video field diaries.
• Novelty:
  1. First archaeological survey anticipating a major DLC release, creating a unique open-access corpus of 537 messages and 61 bloodstains.
  2. First retrospective collaborative autoethnography applied to video game archaeology, enabling reflection on shared and divergent researcher experiences.
  3. Conceptualization of video game archaeology as a hauntological practice, emphasizing the preservation of ephemeral traces and researcher subjectivity.
• Procedure and key techniques:
  • Archaeological survey of five sites in Elden Ring before, during, and after the DLC release, recording player messages, bloodstains, and gestures.
  • Use of video field diaries to capture dynamic artefacts and researcher experiences.
  • Retrospective collaborative autoethnography involving memo writing, video analysis, and diffractive analysis to interpret the data.

Results

• Concrete findings:
  • Recorded 537 player messages and 61 bloodstains across five sites, identifying spatial and temporal trends related to the DLC release.
  • Observed high appraisals for messages in the Mohgwyn Dynasty Mausoleum before and after the DLC launch, and widespread use of the "Ring of Miquella" gesture in the Gravesite Plain.
  • Documented creative player performances using gestures and messages to interact with NPCs and the environment.
• Advantage over baselines:
  • Provides a temporally specific record of player activity during a major DLC release, capturing dynamic artefacts that are otherwise ephemeral.
  • Demonstrates the value of combining archaeological methods with collaborative autoethnography for deeper reflection on the research process.
• Experiments / evaluation:
  • Data collection spanned seven survey days for A1 and six for A2, covering five sites in both the base game and DLC.
  • Analysis included memo writing, video review, and diffractive discussions to identify themes across player traces, server mechanisms, and researcher experiences.
• Limitations and future work:
  • Limited to early DLC sites, excluding later game areas for comparative data.
  • Retrospective autoethnography lacked immediacy compared to real-time reflections.
  • Potential for collaboration with developers to enhance anticipatory archaeology and study asynchronous multiplayer systems in other games like Death Stranding.

Summary

This paper presents the first retrospective collaborative autoethnography of an archaeological survey in a video game, focusing on Elden Ring during the release of its DLC Shadow of the Erdtree. By recording player messages, bloodstains, and gestures, the study provides a temporally specific record of asynchronous multiplayer activity and highlights spatial and temporal trends. The use of video field diaries and diffractive analysis enabled reflection on the research process, contributing to HCI metaresearch and the study of eudaimonic experiences. The findings demonstrate the potential of video game archaeology as a hauntological practice and propose best practices for preserving dynamic play experiences.